Defenders Vol 1 61
** ** ** ** Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * Other Characters: * * * * * * * ** ** *Unnamed horses of the Richmond Riding Academy. * * * Doug Henning * * * * * John Travolta * *Sam Peckinpah * Races and Species: * * Locations: * ** *** ** *** *** * ** * Items: * * . A teleportation cloak used by Hellcat. * * * * *Spider-Man statue. Vehicles: * | Notes = * Nel Yomtov is credited as Nellie. * Lunatik last appeared in Defenders #56. *The issue mentions the running gag that the Defenders continue to have problems when using their coffee machine. *Devil-Slayer and Doctor Strange were seen with the Defenders in issue #60, but have apparently left the team in the intervening time between the two issues. *When Dollar Bill offers to book a theatrical show for Hellcat and her magical cloak, he comments that she would be a bigger success than the magic show of Doug Henning (1947-2000). Henning was a Canadian stage magician, illusionist, and escape artist. He became famous as the star of "The Magic Show" (1974-1978), a one-man musical performance in Broadway. His theatrical show lasted for 1,920 performances. He also successfully appeared in a number of television productions. *The Ort-Beast faced the Hulk in combat in Defenders Vol 1 59 (May, 1978). Their conflict was inconclusive, with the two opponents having matching strength. The creature can not speak, its only vocalization being "Ort". *Hellcat mentally controls the Shadow Cloak. When the Hulk attacks the Cloak, Hellcat starts feeling a headache due to the attack. It is a clue that her mental powers work in unexpected ways, a plot point which would be further explored in Dollar Bill's Documentary Disaster. *The Hulk attacks and hurts Hellcat due to a misunderstanding, but apologizes to Nighthawk for his outburst. It is unclear why he does not apologize to Hellcat herself. *Ben-Hur (1959) is a 1959 American feature film, and an adaptation of the novel "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ" (1880). The film was set in the 1st-century Roman Empire and included chariot-racing scenes which used actual horses. The film was the greatest box-office hit of the 1950s and won 11 Academy Awards. * J. Jonah Jameson complains in this issue that there are Spider-Man comics, toys, and television shows. For an outlaw vigilante, Spider-Man appears to be very popular in Earth-616. *When the haulers recognize Spider-Man and shout his codename, he replies with the phrase "I sure ain't John Travolta". John Travolta (1954-) was a young actor who achieved major fame in the 1970s. He had a co-starring role in the sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter" (1975-1979), he played the protagonist in the film "Saturday Night Fever" (1977), and played the male lead in the film "Grease" (1978). At the time of the issue's publication, Travolta was 24-years-old and still at the beginning of a relatively long career. *Spider-Man initially mistakes Hellcat (Patsy Walker) for the Cat (Greer Grant). Both women have used the Cat Suit, though they have different hair colors. Spidey claims that their voices are different, though he does not explain the difference. *Hellcat is depicted as flirtatious in her Defenders appearances, though her flirting with Spider-Man is a bit odd. He is wearing a uniform which covers his entire body and face, but she deduces that there is a cute guy beneath the mask. *While preparing to film the fight, Dollar Bill compares himself to film director Sam Peckinpah (1925-1984). Peckinpah was known for directing violent films, often Westerns. A typical plot of his films was depicting loners or losers who are forced into fighting, in order to survive in a brutal world. *How Lunatik escaped was explained in a flashback scene in Defenders Vol 1 62 (August, 1978). There was a secret passage at the base of the statue and he escaped through it. How Lunatik found out about the passage was never explained. There was also a continuity problem involving the flashback scene. The scene was supposedly filmed by Dollar Bill, who was at the time trapped with the others. *The Marvel Chronology Project, which covers character appearances, has the following information about the characters of the issue: **Hulk previously appeared in Incredible Hulk Vol 1 226 (August, 1978). He next appears in Hulk! Vol 1 10 (August, 1978). **J. Jonah Jameson previously appeared in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 19 (June, 1978). His next appearance is in Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 182 (July, 1978). **The Presence previously appeared in Defenders Vol 1 55 (January, 1978). **Joseph Robertson previously appeared in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 19 (June, 1978). His next appearance is in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 21 (August, 1978). **Spider-Man previously appeared in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 20 (July, 1978). His next appearance is in Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 182 (July, 1978). | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links = }}